The lone surviving gunman involved in the Mumbai attacks in which 166 people
died is facing the death penalty after being convicted mass murder and
waging war on India.

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, 22, was jointly responsible for the assault on the railway station where 52 people were gunned down.

He was convicted on 86 charges of waging war against India, possessing explosives and aiding and abetting the murders of all 166 victims.

Kasab and his fellow militants from the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) terrorist group struck at three hotels, a bar, a Jewish centre and the city's main station in an attack lasting 60 hours.

His victims included the head of Mumbai's antiterrorist police in a shoot-out as he left the railway station. Their murders wiped out the city's antiterrorist command and sabotaged its response.

India's Home Minister, P Chidambaram, welcomed the verdict and said it sent a clear message to Pakistan that "they should not export terror to India. If they do, and if the terrorists are apprehended, we will be able to give them exemplary punishment," he said.

The judgement has increased pressure on Pakistan to act against the leaders of the LeT terrorist group after the judge ruled that its commanders had ordered the attack.

Two are currently facing trial in Pakistan for their involvement but Hafiz Saeed, who is believed to be the LeT's founder, has not been charged and now runs a militant charitable group, Jamat ud Dawa, which operates schools and hospitals throughout Pakistan.

Two men, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, charged alongside Kasab with carrying out reconnaissance missions for the attacks were acquitted because of insufficient evidence.

Kasab gained worldwide notoriety after he was caught on CCTV as he stalked commuters on the concourse of Mumbai's main rail station Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. His well-groomed appearance – clean-shaven, short hair, T-shirt and modern cargo pants – belied the traditional image of the bearded Islamic militant.

He was seen walking calmly through the station clutching a machine gun with a small rucksack containing spare ammunition over his shoulder.

Transcripts of intercepted telephone conversations between the gunmen and their handlers in Pakistan revealed how the attack was carried out by "remote control".

Their handlers, who appeared to be following live television news coverage, were shown ordering the gunmen to kill individual hostages and telling them what to do next.

Kasab was picked up by Mumbai's police but himself out a car to make his way towards another target. He was later arrested and taken to hospital for treatment after being challenged by another officer at a roadblock.

Anger over the attacks and suspicions that senior members of Pakistan's military establishment played a role have increased as the trial progressed.

Police investigators discovered the terrorists had been trained in Kashmir, before leaving Pakistan by boat from Karachi. The team had hijacked an Indian boat, killed five crew members and forced the captain to sail them to Mumbai where they slit his throat before landing in the heart of the city.

Trial judge ML Tahaliyani told Kasab: "You have been found guilty of waging war against India and killing people at [the railway station], killing government officials and abetting the other nine terrorists."

He had been personally or jointly responsible for the deaths of 52 people at the station, he added.

Kasab changed his story several times during the course of the investigation and trial, confessed to his involvement and described his training and commanders before later withdrawing the confession. A later plea change to guilty was rejected by the judge.

Pakistan has requested Kasab's extradition as a witness against Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, the LeT military commander charged with masterminding the attacks along with six others but he is unlikely to be handed over. India believes Pakistan already has enough evidence to convict the masterminds, but lacks the political will.